The Sham Squire And the Informers of 1798

d the soundness of his law, a book demonstrative of the way in which both were travestied in bad times by unconstitutional judges. It may seem strange that one who has already written the lives of sundry Irish worthies should touch, even with stigma, the life of one eminently unworthy ; but we must not forget that Plutarch, the prince of biographers and moral philosophers, in his introduction to the life of Demetrius Polior- cites, to be followed by and compared with that of See pages 94-96, 108-111, 193, etc. chapter{Section 4iv Antony the Triumvir, ? two personages remarkable for their vices, ? says : " We shall behold and imitate the virtuous with greater attention, if we be not entirely unacquainted with the characters of the vicious and the infamous." Owing to the recently discovered Fenian conspiracy, and the attention which it has excited, this work possesses, perhaps, more than ordinary interest; but, lest it should be supposed that I was influenced in my choice of the subject by its aptness to existing circumstances, I am bound to add that the book was written, and in great part printed, before the Fenian movement obtained notoriety. With a cordial appreciation of your public and private worth, and thanking you for allowing me to dedicate this book to you, I beg to remain, dear Judge O'Hagan, Yours, very faithfully, William John Fitzpatkick. Kilmacud Mahob, Stillohqan, November 1st, 1865. chapter{Section 5PREFACE. A...